178 THE ELOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



water, they will soon show flower at the end of every shoot, and 

 if removed to a close part of the conservatory just as the buds 

 begin to assume their blue colour, and protected from damp, they 

 will remain in this state for some three or four months, for they will 

 hardly open in the temperature of the conservatory, and in this 

 state they will have a very pleasing appearance. 



The flowers will, however, open freely in the temperature of an 

 intermediate bouse, where, if the roots are well supplied with weak 

 manure water, and a moderately dry atmosphere maintained, they 

 last long, and, on plants that have been properly ripened, will be 

 produced in succession from the side shoots for months. 



Specimens intended to be grown on for farther use, must be cut 

 back in time to allow of their making a short growth before winter, 

 and should be repotted every other year ; but by supplying them 

 liberally with manure water, they must be kept in health in good- 

 sized pots for several seasons without repotting. The best soil for 

 this plant is three parts good strong fibry loam, and one part peat, 

 or leaf-soil, mixed with a proper quantity of sand and lumpy bits of 

 charcoal, to keep it open and porous ; for if grown in light, rich soil, 

 the wood is apt to be long-jointed, and the specimens rather inclined 

 to straggle. 



GARDENIA. 



[HIS is a lovely and well-known genus of plants, which are 

 extensively cultivated for their odoriferous properties, 

 as well as for their beauty. It is scarcely possible to 

 single out a more attractive tribe than this, or one that 

 is a greater favourite with the public. Gardenia radi- 

 cans, G. Florida, and F. plena (the well-known Cape Jasmine), are 

 inhabitants of every hot-house, and, during summer, we may add, 

 of almost every drawing-room. 



In the bouquet, also, the addition of a flower of this plant dif- 

 fuses a most delicious fragrance. 



According to Thomberg, the notable Cape Jasmine is highly 

 esteemed with the Japanese ; they form hedges round their dwellings, 

 and introduce it with great profusion in their gardens. Gardenia 

 Rothmanma is a spotted species of considerable beauty ; its fra- 

 grance is most sensibly diffused during night. 



It is a plant of great excellence, and, like the following, deserves 

 a place in all choice collections. G. amcena is an interesting stove 

 shrub, of dwarf habits, retaining its natural spines very often under 

 cultivation in this country. All the species are more or less prickly 

 in their native state, but they apparently lose this when they are 

 subjected to a higher degree of artificial cultivation. There are 

 other species of Gardenias known to our gardens, although not cul- 

 tivated, being either less remarkable for their beauty or their fra- 

 grance. The propagation of the Gardenia is exceedingly simple ; 



